Although I enjoy the diversity of obstacle racing, the target audience always intimidated me—big, burly guys with shaved heads who wanted to crush me. I didn’t want to crush anyone. I mostly just wanted to run a lot.

To my relief, I discovered at my first Spartan race that this was very much a trail runner’s world. I ran circles around the bigger guys, slipped under and over the obstacles, and finished strong despite my lack of veiny muscles. My confidence was restored.

Now the 2013-2014 Spartan season is kicking off all over the country, and I’m honored to offer one free race entry to a lucky reader.

This entry will get you into ANY open Spartan race in the Continental USA. There are events of varying distances all over the country. Check out the Spartan schedule HERE.

You can also use this URL to generate a 15% off code for any Spartan race.

HOW TO ENTER

To win the free entry, simply leave a comment on this post answering the question: “What makes you a warrior?”

If you share this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, or any other form of social media, you get an additional entry for each time you share. For example, if you share on Facebook AND Twitter, that’s two extra entries. (Leave a separate comment telling me where you shared.)

I trained for my first 50K during a Minnesota winter that wouldn’t quit. Glare ice, 15 milers in single digits (water bottle kept freezing), fresh snow. Broke my elbow at a trail race 5 weeks before the 50K. I finished the race (15 more miles), got a plate and 6 screws, ran a 25 mile training run in a full arm cast 10 days after surgery. Five days ago was race day. I had a great time on the trail, met new friends, and finished happy. I am a warrior.

“What makes you a warrior?” I’m a warrior when I’m faced with challenges in going to the unknown. I’m preparing my mind & body on how it will tackle distances more than 20 miles. which I rarely able to reach when running.

What makes me a warrior?
I take the narrow and difficult path less traveled.
I reject the easy way.
I believe that life begins when you leave your comfort zone.
I reject the voice telling me I can’t do this.
I persevere.
I am a warrior!

What makes me a warrior? Running when others won’t, enduring when others quit, continuing when my mind and body scream to stop, attempting feats others think impossible. What really makes me a warrior though…doing all this before the kids get up and spending the rest of the day being Dad.

What makes me a warrior? I just managed to complete my first marathon after training for five months, juggling being a mom to three kids, a wife and a teacher. I have already signed up for marathon #2, and I am determined to get stronger!

I am a warrior because staying home with two young kids during the day, working two part-time jobs at night, renovating a house, and training for my second marathon this fall makes me go non-stop and giving up is not an option.

What makes me a warrior? Completing the Inagural Rock N Roll Portland Half Marathon 7 weeks after donating my kidney to my cousin. Next up, riding 100 miles at Elephant Rock as a living donor member of Team Transplant!

What makes her a warrior? At the ripe age of 68 and two years off of hip replacement surgery, she completed her first Spartan Race and did so pain free! Now she’s caught the bug and wants to do more races, call her crazy!

It’s the inner drive the pushes me to be better than I was yesterday. It’s lacing up my running shoes, even when I ache and don’t feel like it. It’s coughing for air and fighting COPD flare ups as I push for one more mile, one more interval. It’s another set up reps or just one more pull up when my muscles are screaming “no more!” It’s the fire inside that says I’m not giving up.

I completed my first Spartan in April (Indiana Spartan Sprint) and am registered for the Midwest Super Spartan. A free entry for me would mean I could register for the Spartan Beast and earn my TRIFECTA! As is the spirit of the warrior, that too is not enough. Once I have my trifecta, my sites are fixed on running my first 26.2 in March.

What makes me a warrior? I never give up on anything. I wake up at 5:40 every day to train, do my best to eat healthy, and have run through a bad case of runner’s knee (thankfully that is healing nicely).